No. 59 for Sosa Is First in 6 Days

In Spanish, the word “suave” means smooth. In Sosa-speak, it means look out, Sammy’s going deep.

“You can see the difference when I’m thinking about right field. I’m a much better player,” Sosa said. “I feel relaxed, easy. And suave.”

Mr. Smooth got home run No. 59 on Friday, a solo shot over the right-field fence in the fifth inning of the Cubs’ 13-11 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. It was his first homer in six games, and moved him within three of Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Sosa is tied with Babe Ruth for the fourth-most homers in a single season. Ruth hit 59 in 1921, and 60 in 1927. McGwire broke Roger Maris’ record of 61 on Tuesday night.

Sosa’s homer wasn’t enough, though, on a day when a 12-mph wind was blowing everything long. The Cubs, who began the day tied with the New York Mets in the National League wild-card race, saw starter Don Wengert (1-4) hammered for five runs in 2 1/3 innings. In the sixth, Terry Adams threw run-scoring wild pitches on consecutive at-bats.

Eric Plunk (1-2) gave up one hit in 2 1/3 innings, and struck out three, and Bob Wickman got four outs for his 23rd save.

“That’s not the craziest one I’ve ever seen here, believe it or not,” Milwaukee Manager Phil Garner said. “With the wind blowing out, you never know what you’re getting into.”

Sosa hadn’t homered since last Saturday, a five-game stretch that was his longest since Aug. 11-15. While he said he wasn’t getting very good pitches, he acknowledged that he’d been pressing, trying too hard to make something happen.

So before the game, Cub hitting coach Jeff Pentland sat Sosa down for an intense, five-minute pep talk. Sosa listened closely, nodding his head several times.

He seemed more relaxed in his first two at-bats, hitting a sharp RBI single to left in the first inning and flying out to the right-field warning track in the third. Two innings later, Sosa put Bill Pulsipher’s 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall, sending the fans in the right-field bleachers into a frenzy.

“That was one of the easiest swings I’ve swung in the last couple of days,” he said.